


science of love

by anon_drabble



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dorks in Love, F/M, Gen, Laboratories, Random & Short, Scientist AU, Scientist Jumin, Some Humor, lab AU, napporin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-10 04:41:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19899988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anon_drabble/pseuds/anon_drabble
Summary: i‘m so excited to post this, you have no idea. i was lucky enough to commission the wonderful @napporin to draw a header image of sorts for this series. introducing.... scientist jumin! a series of mini-fics (or full fics, who knows) staring jumin as a scientist and the epic experiments he might plan. mc as his hapless assistant...and maybe eventually more. please look forward to the next part of this, posted sporadically here and on ao3! and please give @napporin lots of love for drawing this epic image based on my babbling! ♥





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> napporin really deserves all the love here so please go check her out:  
> https://mobile.twitter.com/napporin  
> https://www.instagram.com/napporin/  
> https://napporin.tumblr.com/  
> https://napporin.carrd.co/

Excitement couldn’t begin to describe it! Today was your first day at your dream job. Or it was supposed to be. At the very least, a gateway to bigger and better things. An apprenticeship with your school, working under a renowned scientist. You knew you’d be able to learn so much. But as soon as word spread of your good luck, you received an unexpected reaction. Pity. Sympathy. Worry. This man you’d be following had a reputation, apparently. It made him rather infamous around campus. Some said he was a demon to work for, demanding and even degrading to his assistants. Others said he was just closed off and preferred not to speak to others. Some even went so far as to make claims of sexual harassment. It worried you but you still felt optimistic. These claims were all rumors, after all. All came from second-hand sources, those who had not worked directly with him. But at the same time, it did make you realize that you couldn’t find anyone who had worked with him. It was hard to know what to believe. 

So it was with some trepidation that you knocked on the door to the lab. There was a pause then it swung open but no one was there. You peeked inside as someone had to be there. The door didn’t open by itself. Finally, a man bustled past, holding beakers and vials. He didn’t look at you or acknowledge you but hurried past. You took a single step forward but paused, a little unsure of yourself. He stopped at a table, unloading three containers of various shapes. He immediately began to fill them and label them before finally speaking. 

“Well. Are you going to come inside or not?” 

You stammered but stepped in and shut the door. 

“Good. You’re the intern, aren’t you? Grab me the nepetalactone. It’s in the cabinet on the other wall, it is labeled with its chemical formula.” 

Was this a test already? You slowly approached the cabinet, wracking your brain. You didn’t know if you knew what nepetalactone really was. You’d heard it before, probably, but it didn’t ring any bells. You inspected the contents. All were labeled with formulas. The labels were clean and meticulous, easy-to-read. But labeling them as the formulas? 

Your eyes scanned past KOH (which you knew was potassium hydroxide; that was an easy one), NaHCO3 (sodium carbonate, another easy one), C4H6O6 (you didn’t quite recognize that one either), even C28H30O4 which you recognized as thymolphthalein, disappearing ink. You’d made your own batch of disappearing ink in the past, just for fun. You finally spotted a small jar with the label C10H14O2 . The only reason you noticed it was it looked more worn than the others. The jar appeared to have been handled much more than many of the others. It was still clean and the label was intact but there were fingerprints and slight discoloration of the paper label. You quickly tried to break down the formula to figure out if it was the mystery nepetalactone. But knowing it had ten carbon didn’t really help at all. Then you remembered something from a botany class, when you had learned some plant formulas. Nepeta was a plant in the mint family, known more commonly as...catnip. Catnip? He wanted catnip? 

You shot a look over to the man who was still working, not taking note of you. Until he finally looked up and you met his eyes for the first time. He still had a look of deep concentration but you felt the intensity of his gaze, combined with his handsome features, and suddenly you found you had nothing to say. 

“Did you not find the nepetalactone? It is in there. Or perhaps you don’t know the formula.” Oh. He caught you. You must have given some sign of confirmation because he sighed, stood up and approached the cabinet. He grabbed the jar you’d hesitated on, the C10H14O2 . He looked down at you, which you found much more intimidating. “This one,” he said. You nodded to show you understood and his expression softened, losing the edge to it. Now he just looked handsome. “I use this often so do your best to learn it.” Then he went to resume his work. 

“Wait, you use catnip? But why? What are you doing in here?” you finally asked. 

He didn’t look up, taking a careful measurement of nepetalactone. “What am I doing?” he repeated, and though he kept his head down, you thought you saw a slight smile, the smallest upturn of the corners of his mouth. “I am making a line of cologne, perfumes, and soaps, all of which will provide pleasing scents to cats. Modern soaps and cleaners are often too strong and upset a cat’s delicate nose. My products will ensure the cats will enjoy the scent and the owners will not have to worry.” 

Well, it wasn’t exactly going to change the world but at least it was a job, right? But you were starting to perhaps understand why people had offered sympathies. You had the impression this might prove to be a very different work environment. 


	2. Chapter 2

It was early in the week and early in the morning when you entered the lab. Jumin was already there. Every time you thought you got used to him, he proved you wrong. Seeing him so early in the morning, your eyes half-closed, thoughts cloudy, hands clutching tightly around the precious morning coffee, well, seeing him was a bit of a shock. He was just so much eye candy. His personality was a little...out there, but no one could deny how good he looked. 

He glanced over very briefly as you entered, his eyes narrowing slightly before looking away. That was when you realized your jaw had fallen open a bit after your eyes were assaulted by his handsomeness so early in the morning. You snapped your mouth shut, although he had obviously seen it already. 

“Good morning,” you greeted him. Jumin never really engaged in small talk with you but you wanted to maintain a relatively good relationship with him. Even if you weren’t close, you did have to work together. 

“What did you do with the data?” he asked immediately. 

You frowned. “What data?” You were in a lab. There was a lot of data. 

“I need the results from last week. I know I am close to the application of our data to a widely available product. We could potentially launch the line of scents next month. But you took the data and now I cannot find it,” he grumbled. He hated anything that impeded his work. 

But you just smiled. “No, I entered it into KANG last week. It’s all there. Ask her to pull it up.” 

Jumin frowned further. “What is KANG and who should I be asking? You are my assistant.” 

“Oh, KANG is what I call her. Our computer network. It’s a Kernal Analytic Neural Graph system according to the technology club who programmed her. So I started calling her KANG for short,” you laughed. 

“But why ‘her’?” Jumin pressed, looking uncertain. 

“Because she’s got a woman’s voice, that’s all. But I guess we can change her voice to be whatever.” 

“A voice? Our computer system does not speak to us,” Jumin pressed. 

“Oh, actually, she can. She’s voice-automated. Watch this.” You cleared your throat, then spoke loudly but somewhat slowly. “KANG, can you bring up the results from Experiment #374 and please compare them to the data set from previous experiments?” 

The AI voice responded as the files opened before Jumin on the computer. “Here are the requested results,” the computer voice intoned. While it sounded robotic, it was definitely a female voice. 

Jumin blinked several times. “And her name is KANG?” he finally asked after a long pause. 

You shrugged. “That’s what I call her.” 

Jumin looked at his computer screen, then spoke in the same slow voice you had. “Assistant KANG. Print the data on screen.” You laughed slightly at him calling her “Assistant” but it sort of fit. She was an assistant. 

The printer icon appeared as KANG agreed. Soon the printer had produced the pages. 

Jumin was looking at you, his expression impossible to read. 

“See? She’s useful, right?” You said, fetching the papers for him. You handed them over with a smile. Jumin seemed to hold your gaze a bit longer than normal. 

“She may be more useful than you,” he said in all seriousness. Your light mood instantly fell. You were disappointed but angry at Jumin. He was comparing you to a computer! But then you saw the corner of his mouth twitch. He was hiding a smile! 

Wait, had _the_ Jumin Han just made a joke? The terror of the science block? You grinned back at him and took your seat. “She probably is,” you agreed and you saw Jumin smile more out of the corner of your eye. Okay, he obviously wasn’t so bad. Misunderstood, probably. But he seemed human. 

A knock at the door and Jumin rose to answer it.

“Delivery for Han,” the carrier said. 

Jumin signed for the box and carried it to an empty table. He opened it quickly, seeming rather eager, pulling out the contents. But he looked disappointed as he held up… a lab coat covered in long, white fur. “This won’t work. The chemicals would damage it. I am sorry, Elizabeth the Third. I thought surely wearing a coat with fur like yours would increase our productivity but it appears I cannot wear this here…” 

He’d… He’d had a lab coat made to look like cat hair. You changed your mind. This man, while good-looking, was as the rumors had said. What sort of scientist was he? You lowered your head and just repeated that it was a good opportunity. You just had to endure the antics of this man… somehow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can fight me if you don't believe jumin will now name every piece of equipment after mc's example with the computer. 😂

**Author's Note:**

> those napporin links again:   
> https://mobile.twitter.com/napporin  
> https://www.instagram.com/napporin/  
> https://napporin.tumblr.com/  
> https://napporin.carrd.co/
> 
> originally posted on my tumblr: https://anon-drabble.tumblr.com  
> if you're able, i definitely recommend you visit the tumblr where i do reblog prompts and also post additional content like much shorter fluff pieces and headcanons.  
> i always accept requests ♥


End file.
